The 33-year-old was a member of the Blaugrana’s EuroLeague title-winning roster in 2009-10.
Ricky Rubio seals return to the EuroLeague with Barcelona
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FC Barcelona has confirmed the addition of Ricky Rubio for the remainder of the season with the point guard returning to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague after a 13-year absence. Rubio (1.92 meters, 33 years old) became a EuroLeague champion during his first spell at Barca, playing alongside the team's current head coach Roger Grimau, before going on to shine in the NBA. The playmaker returned to his native Spain last year, and particularly the region of Catalonia, after experiencing mental health struggles.
Rubio is fondly remembered at Barcelona
After starting out at Joventut Badalona, where Rubio appeared in the Spanish League as a 14-year-old, he joined crosstown rival Barca at 18 and had a dream first campaign at Palau Blaugrana in 2009-10.
In addition to winning the Copa del Rey domestically, Rubio played a key role as Barca secured its second-ever EuroLeague crown. The Spaniard started in all 22 of the games he appeared in, averaging 6.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.4 steals.
His best performance of that campaign saw Rubio net 19 points in a closeout Game 4 of the playoffs against archrival Real Madrid, before scoring 10 in a 64-54 win over CSKA Moscow in the semifinals and 9 points in an 86-68 triumph over Olympiacos Piraeus in the championship game.
Thanks to his efforts during the campaign, Rubio was handed the EuroLeague Rising Star award. The following season, 2010-11, proved to be his last on the Old Continent, with Rubio posting 6.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals as Barca reached the EuroLeague Playoffs, where it fell to Panathinaikos Athens in a four-game series.
Thirteen years on, Rubio is back and will look to provide a big boost for Coach Grimau’s squad in the final stretch of this season. With Barcelona having fallen in the Final Four in three successive years, Grimau will hope that the addition of his ex-teammate is just what his team needed.
His early EuroLeague years
Before arriving at Barcelona, Rubio had two years of experience in the EuroLeague with Joventut. He appeared in 16 games, all off the bench, in the 2006-07 campaign, posting 3.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and an incredible 3.2 steals per contest. The 2007-08 season saw him limited to just five games, in which he averaged 2.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals per night.
Rubio’s sole campaign in the BKT EuroCup was also a fruitful one, as he averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.4 steals in 16 appearances as Joventut went on to become the champion, downing Basquet Girona 54-79 in the final.
12 years in the NBA
After being selected with the fifth overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2009 NBA Draft, Rubio remained in Europe for two years – which is when he went to Barcelona – before heading stateside. Rubio was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in his first season in the league, 2011-12, following an impressive debut season in which he posted 10.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game.
More than half of Rubio’s 698 games in the NBA came in the jersey of the Timberwolves, with the Masnou-born guard spending the first six seasons of his career in Minnesota (2011-17). He later spent two years with the Utah Jazz (2017-19), one season with the Phoenix Suns (2019-20), a year back with Minnesota (2020-21) and the last two campaigns with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2021-23).
In August, Rubio announced that he was putting a halt to his basketball career, at least temporarily, citing mental health struggles.
“I have decided to stop my professional activity to take care of my mental health,” Rubio said in a statement distributed by the Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB). “I want to thank all the support I have received from the FEB to understand my decision. Today #LaFamilia makes more sense than ever. Thank you.”
A legend for Spain
It’s difficult to write about Rubio and not discuss his feats with the Spanish national team. At just 17, he was selected to go to the 2008 Olympic Games alongside a golden generation featuring Pau Gasol, Juan Carlos Navarro and Rudy Fernandez, among others, and he didn’t look out of place.
In the gold-medal game against the United States of America’s “Redeem Team”, Rubio played more minutes than anyone in a Spain jersey and held his own against the likes of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. He did, however, come out on the losing side.
One year later, Rubio and Spain won gold at EuroBasket 2009, beating Serbia 85-63. Rubio then secured his second EuroBasket gold medal in 2011 after Spain defeated France 98-85. Later, at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, and with most of La Roja’s great players having retired, Rubio led his nation to gold with a 75-95 victory over Argentina as tournament MVP. Rubio also won the bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics, EuroBasket 2013 and EuroBasket 2017.
The only thing left to say is... Welcome back, Ricky!